Downward-facing dog, plank, chaturanga, upward-facing dog and downward-facing dog... known as a vinyasa. An integral part of most flow classes, used to warm up, press the reset button of the mind and body, while flowing between sequences. Have you ever been unsure of what you were supposed to be feeling, or why your wrists, shoulders or back ache? This workshop will break down each of the four main poses – downdog, plank, chaturanga, and updog – and its transitions. Learning modifications to stay off achy wrists and shoulders, and which muscles are vital to strengthen and open to perform the vinyasa safely and effectively will be the aim of the workshop. All levels are welcomed. If you pre-register, the fee will be $20.00. The day of the workshop, $25.00. Day: Saturday March 7th.Time: 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm.Address: 34-01 45th street, Astoria NY 11101.

A morning practice…That's something that I truly need to develop more of. Many of us avoid it like the plague. Just when we made plans to wake-up early and meditate or practice asana, the alarm goes off … and we hit the snooze button. Maybe we stay up late and that will be our excuse the next morning. Here's another one… we wash our mat, so it's too wet or put it somewhere we can't find to avoid going to a studio for practice. Excuses, excuses.

So what do you?

Get all your stuff ready the night before.

Makes your morning more efficient and you'll be primed to get going.

Don't wake up 15-minutes before the start of class!

LOL… seriously, give yourself time to marinate. Yeah… marinate. To enjoy your morning, savor your departure from bed and allow your body to get acclimated to a new day instead of rushing out.

Get a cat!

Yes… they'll get you up really early whether you want to or not.

Develop a home practice.

You don't have to go to your local studio to get your meditation or asana practice in. Roll out a mat in the living room or any available space in your home and a few sun salutations later, you got yourself an effective morning routine.

Get into poses that will stimulate.

Energizing poses; cat-cow to warm up the spine, sun salutations to build heat, back-bends to invigorate and finish with savasana to collect yourself and cultivate awareness for the day.